Scrap separator for materials conveyer



SCRAP SEPARATOR FOR MATERIALS convnimns' Filed .Apfil s, 1944 FIG.

INVENTOR. EDWARD A. FREED Patented Dec. 7, 1948 "OFFICE! ooNvEYEm I ;Edward A. Freed, Molinie, Ill. Application April3, 1944, N0. 529,247

The present invention relates generally to materials conveyors and more particularly to that class of conveyors which comprises a tubular conduit, within which is disposed a propelling devicepsuch as an auger, for conveying stoker coaly grain, or other fluent solids. The principal object of my invention relates to theprovision of'a separator for removing from the fluent solids any large infrangible objects which wouldbe likely to' damzatgethe conveyor; such as, for example, mine spikes,rocks; etc. 1

This inventionis advantageously applied to a stoker in a coal burning furnace, for it is well: known to those skilled in the art that places of scrap metal frequently find their way into the happen and become wedgea dr "jammed between the conveyorauger andthe entrance tothe con:- veyor tube. Heretofore; it has been customary to provide shearable coupling pins between the auger and. its driving motor, but although a shear pin mayprevent severe damage to the apparatusj it does not avoid an interruption inthe operation of the stoker and requires the removal of the obstruction before operation can be resurned. further object of my invention, there fore, relates to the provision of a separator which removes the obstructing object from the conveyor before it has become jammed, andneposnsme object safely in a receptacle, which can be cleaned out at anyconvenient time.

In the accomplishment of these objects I have recognized that an obstructing object is 1 a hazard to the" operation of the "conveyor aslong-as*it' remains in a positionabovetheconveyor augerl but the hazard is removed by transferrihg the object from above the augerto below the latter; sincefthejspecific gravity of {the pice'of scrap rod is greatenthan that of thecoal and ingagement between the auger vane and the tu Another object of the present invention, there f sures that the piece will not againriseinto .alongfa line Z l in Figure 1;

7 claims. (01. lat-564) 2 myainvention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference is had. to the drawings appended hereto, in which :FigurewL is atop plan view of a fuel conveyor between a hopper and a furnace retort, the hopper andretort being partially broken away;

i Figure Z is an "elevational view taken in section Figure 3is an elevational viewof one edge of the separating device, asindicated by a line 3--3 in Figure 2; and" t i i Figure l is an elevationalwview of the other by reference numeral l0 and is not shown in detail since any conventional retort or other appropriate fuel burning device can be employed. The fuelis delivered to the retort 10 through a cylindrical tubeor conduit H, which is connected with the conveyortrough B through a separator indicated generany "by reference numeral l5, adaptedtofseparate from the flow of coal to the retort lfl ahy fscrap metal or other objectswhich might damagethefuel conveying apparatus.

The separator l5 comprises a hollow body or housing l6 connected serially between the hopper respectively, which are rigidly bolted to registering flanges I9, 20 on the hopper 5 and' tube H respectively Preferably, the

housing 16 is formed in a single casting, and is providedwith a cylindrical passage 2| extending longitudinallythroughthe housing in axial alignrnentwith the hopper trough 8 and the retort when: p i QAn augeror screw conveyor 25 extends coaxially i .aa ea m hehqu {provided with a chamber'30 alongside the passage 21 extending above and below the latter and defined by a side wall 3| spaced laterally from the passage, a bottom 32, a top wall 33, an inner end wall 34 inclined laterally toward the passage 2| at the outlet end of the housing and a curved central wall 35 over the passage 2|, extending vertically downwardly from the top wall 33 and terminating at its intersection with the passage 2| along a helical edge 36. The passage 2| communicates with the chamber 3|] by means ofa large opening extending from end to end of the passage, and defined by the helical edge 36 along the top of the opening and a straight lower edge 31 extending axially along the bottom of the passage.

The helical edge starts at the entrance end of the passage 2| on the side of the passageopposite the chamber 3 and curves upwardly over the auger and down the side of the latter adjacent the chamber 30, terminating near the out-- let end of the housing near the bottom of the passage. Thus, the helical curve ofttthe "edge 36 winds in the opposite direction to the. helical vane 21 and has a pitch much greater than that of the vane.

Hence, it will be evident that the :upper portion of the chamber extends over the auger 25'at the entrance end of the housing, forming an erelarged or ila'red entrance =38, which registers with an upwardly enlarged exit opening 39 in the hopper wall 6 above the trough 8, through which the granulated stoker fuel is free to flow.

The housing is also provided with a recess or channel ill extending under the passage 2| from one end to the other of the housing, which registers with a clean-out passage 4| in the hopper under the trough 8. The flange 20 on the inner end of the channel 40. 5

With the hopper 5 dined with stoker coal, the

auger -2 5kis rotated to propel the fluent fuelfrom the trough 8 through the passage 2| and tube into the retort ll]. through the large opening between the helical edge 36 and the lower edge 31 into the recess dilifilling the chamber 30 up to the top wall 33, but after these spaces within the housing are filled, the coal remains stationary except that between the convolutions of the vane .21.

In the event that a piece ofscrap iron or other exthaneous object finds "its way into the hopper and is carried into the housing. It by the auger 25, there is no damage resulting from the object being caught between the auger vane 21 and the top of the housing, which sometimes occurs in the conventional conveyor where the end of the retort tube I is connected directly to the hopper. Because 'of the flared entrance 38 above the auger there is ample room for the usual piece of scrap, illustrated by a spike 43., to pass into the housing over the auger.

Since the specific gravity of the metal-spike 43 is greater than that of the fluent coal, the spike will readily sink to the bottom of the channel or chamber 32 whenever the spike slides off the auger. However, when the spike tends to ride along on top of the auger, it becomes engagedbetween the auger vane and the helical upper edge 36 of the opening, but in view of the large pitch of the helical edge it cannot "become jammed between the latter and the auger vane butis propelled longitudinally by the oamming action of the vane cooperating with the edge 36, and since the spike follows the helical-edge around the auger, it :is evident that the spike will The fuel overflows to the side or bottom of the auger until it drops away from the latter and sinks into the bottom of the channel 40. The channel or chamber serves as a receptacle to retain the spike and other foreign objects without any danger of their interfering with the operation of the conveyor. As the spike sinks into the recess, it may be engaged by the bottom of the vane, which merely pushes it along the channel, tending to lay it longitudinally therein.

Of course, any foreign objects that are carried along the bottom of the trough in the hopper do not become a menace to proper operation of the conveyor, for they merely slide over the lower edge 31 into the recess.

Thus, it will be appreciated that since there are no edges around the passage 2| lying in radial planes, there is no possibility of the spikes "and other foreign objects becoming jammed and therefore there is no necessity for shear pins, slip clutches or other safety devices between the auger shaft 26 and its driving motor.

Furthermore, inasmuch as there is ample roomin .the bottom of the chamber 25 to retain an appreciable quantity of extraneous objects, it is seldom necessary to take the time to-clean out the recess during the heating season, for. the recess can be cleaned out in the spring when the apparatus is shut down. i

-It, is to be understood that while I have dls closed a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not intend to limit my invention to these particular details shown and described. Furthermore, my invention is not limited to stoker conveyors for it is also advantageously applied to other types of conveyors, such as, for example, conveyors for grain or for other fluent solids.

What I desire to protect by Letters Patent is set forth in the claims which follow.

Iclaimr a l. Ina materials conveyor, a housing having a. generally cylindrical passage therein, an auger rotatably disposed in said passage and provided witha continuous helical vane fitting closely within the latter for moving material from said housing into said passageand longitudinallythere through, .a portion of the top and one side of said passage being open within said housing and having a generally; helical edge defining the opening. curving over said passage and down said one side. saidedge and said vane being cooperable to force infrangible objects caught there between to the bottom of said passagasaid housing having a recess beneath saidauger for collecting said object's.

For use with a hopper for fluent solids, .a;

materials conveyor comprising a housing 'havinga flared entrance adapted to communicate with's'aid hopper and a cylindrical passage, an auger extending through said entrance from said hopper and through said passage and having a continuous helical vane fitting closely within the latter for moving the vfluent solids from said hopper into and through said passage, a portion ofsaid passage having an opening communicating with the interior of said housing, said opening being defined by a continuous helical edge curving over the top of said auger in a direction counter to that of said-auger vane, said edge extending-down. said oneside of said auger and terminating near the bottom of the latter, said vane "being cooperable. withsaid edge to urge by a camming action, infrangi-ble objects caught thererbetween to the, bottom of said passage, the bottom of said passage, being recessed to collect said objects.

be 'transferred from a position ,above, the auger. 7 5 3. For use with a conveyor of the type compels-' ing a cylindrical conduit and an auger rotatably dis-posed therein, apparatus for separating infrangible objects from the material to be conveyed, comprising a separator housing adapted to be connected in serial relation with the conveyor tube-and serving as an entrance for the latter, said housing having a tubular passage therein adapted to register with said conduit to receive said auger, means associated with said housing adjacent .to and cooperable with said auger for forcing to the bottom of said passage objects that are too large to readily pass therethrough, said housing including a channel in the bottom of saidpassage for receiving said objects.

4. Apparatus for handling fluent solids and the like, comprising a casing having a conveyor trough therein having a tubular passage in alignment with said trough, conveying means movable in said trough and passage for propelling said solids therethrough, a guide shield over said trough adjacent the entrance to said passage having an oblique uide edge extending over said trough and downward along one side thereof adjacent to and cooperable with said conveying means to cam infrangible objects from above said conveying means to the bottom of said trough, there being a recess below said trough serving as a receptacle for said objects to prevent damage to said conveying means.

5. Apparatus for handling fluent solids and the like, comprising a casing having a conveyor trough therein and a tubular passage in alignment with said trough, conveying means movable in said trough and passage for propelling said solids therethrough, a guide shield over said trough adjacent the entrance to said passage having a helical guide edge extending from one side of said trough over the latter and downwardly over the other side of the trough, terminating near the bottom thereof adjacent to and cooperable with said conveying means to cam infrangible objects to the bottom of said trough, there being a channel in said casing recessed in the bottom of said trough and extending axially beneath said conveyor to serve as a receptacle for said infrangible objects to separate them from the fluent solids conveyed by said conveying means.

6. In a materials conveyor, a housing having a generally cylindrical passage therein, an auger rotatably disposed in said passage and provided with a continuous helical vane for moving material from said housing into said passage and longitudinally therethrough, a portion of the top and one side of said passage being open within said housing and having a generally helical edge defining the opening curving over said passage and down said one side, said edge and said vane being cooperable to force infrangible objects caught therebetween to the bottom of said passage, the lower edge of said opening extending axially along the bottom of said passage, there being an open space in said housing alongside of and beneath said passage to form a receptacle for said objects.

7. For use with a hopper for fluent solids, a materials conveyor comprising a housing having a flared entrance adapted to communicate with said hopper and a cylindrical passage, an auger extending through said entrance from said hopper and through said passage and having a continuous helical vane for moving the fluent solids from said hopper into and through said passage, a portion of said passage having an opening communicating with the interior of said housing, said opening being defined by a continuous helical upper edge curving over the top of said auger, said upper edge extending down said one side of said auger, and a lower edge extending axially along the bottom of said passage, said housing having side and bottom walls spaced laterally and downwardly from said upper and lower edges of said opening, respectively, to provide a receptacle for said infrangible objects.

EDWARD A. FREED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,092,248 Guthrie Sept. 7, 1937 2,186,404 Carter Jan. 9, 1940 

